前几天看到《朗读者》中,96岁的许渊冲先生优雅绅士,谈起林徽因和徐志摩的故事仍然热泪盈眶,说到自己年轻时喜欢的女同学,依旧甜美之情溢于言表。如此高龄病躯,仍要在一百岁之时译完《莎士比亚全集》。他的心是如此激情饱满、敏感热烈,仿佛从未有岁月的痕迹。一生都在创造美、追求美。万里归来,仍是少年;白发苍苍,犹在青春。当时让我立刻想到一篇美文《青春》,在此分享给大家。
Youth 青春
Samuel Ullman(美) 王佐良译
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind.
青春不是年华,而是心境;
It is not a matter of rosy cheeks,red lips and supple knees.
青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,
It is a matter of the will,a quality of the imagination,vigor of the emotions;
而是深沉的意志、宏伟的想象、炽热的感情;
It is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity,
青春气贯长虹,勇锐盖过怯懦,
of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.
进取压倒苟安,
This often exits in a man of 60,more than a boy of 20.
如此锐气,二十后生有之,六旬男子则更多见。
nobody grows merely by the number of years;we grow old by deserting our ideas.
年岁有加,并非垂老;理想丢弃,方堕暮年。
Years may wrinkle the skin,but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
岁月悠悠,衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却,颓唐必至灵魂。
Worry,fear,self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
烦忧、惶恐、丧失自信,定使心灵扭曲,意气如灰。
Whether 60 or 16,there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders,
无论年届花甲,抑或二八芳龄,心中皆有生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱惑。
the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living.
孩童般天真久盛不衰。
In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station;
人人心中皆有一台天线,
so long as it receives messages of beauty,hope,cheer,courage and power from men and from infinite,
只要你从天上人间接收美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号,
so long as you are young.
你就青春永驻,风华常存。
When the aerials are down,and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism,
一旦天线倒塌,锐气被冰雪覆盖,玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生,
then you've grown old,even at 20,but as long as your aerials are up,
即使年方二十,实已垂老矣;然则只要竖起天线,
to catch waves of optimism,there's hope you may die young at 80.
捕捉乐观的信号,你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
这篇文章的作者塞缪尔·厄尔曼, 1840 年生于德国,儿时随家人移居美国,参加过南北战争,年逾70才开始写作。
麦克阿瑟将军极喜欢这篇文章,他在二战期间,与日军角逐于太平洋时,将此文镶于镜框,摆在写字台上以自勉。松下公司元老松下幸之助曾感慨地说:“20年来,《青春》与我朝夕相伴,它是我的座右铭。”
愿大家青春永驻,风华长存,心中永葆生命之欢乐、奇迹之诱惑,即使到了白发苍苍的年纪,仍有一颗赤子之心!